Glossary of terms

transhumanism: A movement based on the belief that the human race can keep improving through technology and that the species in its current form "does not represent the end of our development but rather a comparatively early phase."

enhancement: Any improvement, by way of emerging technologies, that makes humans smarter, healthier, happier, with heightened senses and control over emotions, memory, genetics and aging.

radical longevity: Living far beyond 100.

posthuman: What the species may look and think like when we have merged with machines and machines have become more like humans.

nanotechnology: The molecule-by-molecule control of matter. Byproducts: nanorobots, nanocomputers, nanomedicine.

upload: To transfer human mental abilities, consciousness and personality to a supercomputer.

The Singularity: A term borrowed from mathematics and astrophysics, popularized by computer scientist and author Vernor Vinge in 1993; a point in the future when artificial intelligence has accelerated past the point that we can currently comprehend it. As technology guru Ray Kurzweil says in the title of his newest book: "The Singularity Is Near."